…as much as we storytellers dabble in fiction, fantasy and folklore, finding the elusive silver bullet that drives our masterpieces to the top of the bestseller lists is unlikely to be appear under our pillow like some equivalent of the tooth fairy’s offerings… for almost a decade now (my, how time flies when ye’re enjoying yerself, eh, Mabel?), I’ve derived more pleasure than ever I could have imagined by becoming a writer… Lady Luck has bestowed her blessings liberally in the sales/downloads column, aggregating more than 100,ooo copies across all my Jack Calder crime thriller titles, and my wee guide to using the SOSYAL NETWORKS as a scribbler, SELF-PUBLISHING STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL SALES…

…I’m often asked what’s the secret to the marketing and promotion WURK that goes into being a modern scribe… okay, I’ll spill the beans… ssshhhh… there is NO secret... but for what it’s worth, here are a few pointers that have helped this ol’ Scots Jurassic along the way…

DON’T SPAM...

Communicate regularly with the WURLD at large… that’s where yer readers and supporters abide…

Select a few channels to touch base with yer readers (and only a few, coz yeez only have one brain and one pair of hands with limited hours in the day)… for me they include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Pocket…

Link these to a REGULAR blog… choose the frequency of writing yer blog that yer time permits sensibly (what, me, sensibly!??… heaven forfend!)

DON’T SPAM…

Host Guest Posts and provide Guest Posts on other outlets, writers or not…

Help other authors… people were so generous to me when I started out, without which help I doubt if I would have seen a fraction of the success…

By all means show yer books in posts and reader groups, but be sure to reciprocate by hosting others…

If yeez use Auntie Amazon, indulge the free promo mechanisms… the books downloaded that way cost yeez NUTHIN in real terms, but generally become catalysts for cash sales, especially if there’s a back list available of yer tomes…

DON’T SPAM…

…and it’s perfectly in order to present yer books as part of yer blogs, but remember to attach buying links for good folks who may be interested, to allow them easy access to yer titles, thus:

Reblogged this on Words To Captivate ~ by John Fioravanti and commented:
Seumas Gallacher via Chris The Story Reading Blog shares some simple marketing tactics that he uses quite successfully. Please, read on!

Great advice as always, Seumas – and don’t even get me started on new followers on Twitter who straightaway send a DM asking you to buy their book(s). Unfollowed forthwith. Or the writers who suck it up like a Dyson but never retweet/share/comment on anything YOU put out. Grrrr. Happy Easter.

Reblogged this on Writer's Treasure Chest and commented:
Seumas Gallacher has published a guide to successful author self promotion. It can be bought on Amazon. Thank you very much Seumas – and yeas… I got it.